THIS cracking read offers you a bit of everything. It is part crime thriller, part pre-war espionage story and a passionate love affair.
The narrative takes place in Dublin in 1934 and moves on to rural Ireland before ending up in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk), a place beginning to be darkened by the deadly presence of the Nazis.
The tale revolves around the disappearance of a young Jewish woman in Dublin who is pregnant by a Catholic priest ( a truly scandalous occurrence in 1930s Ireland).
Her best friend Hannah, who is living in Palestine, returns to look for her and encounters Garda Detective Sergeant Stefan Gillespie who is also pursuing German abortionist Dr Hugo Keller.
Proceedings become very murky with the involvement of the Irish Special Branch as Stefan and Hannah join forces to investigate, despite the fact that Gillespie has been told by his superiors to drop the case.
The action eventually moves to Danzig, supposedly free from German influence but awash with Gestapo and other malevolent forces.
As their relationship grows, the couple come under increasing threat to their lives, in their search for the truth.